The iPad Mini: Why Now Is the Perfect Time for a Small Apple Tablet

Wired: Steve Jobs famously dissed 7-inch tablets. They’re “tweeners” he said — “too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad.” Yet inside sources have reported that Apple has been working on small-tablet reference designs since 2009. Initial reports came from dubious overseas supply-chain leaks, but now even the New York Times reports that a small iPad — a 7.85-incher, to be precise — is being readied for production.